Jean de Villiers scooped the South African Rugby Player of the Year award on Wednesday evening.

It is just the sixth time that a player has won the award twice as De Villiers was also handed it in 2008. He follows in the footsteps of Naas Botha (won won it four times), Bryan Habana (three), Uli Schmidt, Fourie du Preez and Schalk Burger in winning the award on more than one occasion.

De Villiers also won Try of the Year for his effort against Wales while Eben Etzebeth walked off with the Young Player of the Year award. The South Africa Rugby Players' Association's award went to fullback Willie le Roux.

"The Springboks showed massive improvement last year and are now chasing New Zealand hard for the position of top-ranked team in the world, while our Junior Boks and Springbok Sevens teams also performed very well," SARU president Oregon Hoskins said. "In Super Rugby, the Bulls and Cheetahs were top of the local pile, while the standard of play across all levels on local soil was of the highest standard.

"As we prepare for what promises to be a massive year ahead, I would like to congratulate every winner on their awards, but would also like to thank every player, coach, administrator, referee, sponsor and all other role players for making 2013 a season to remember."